FG Records 3,834,244 Cyber Attacks During Governorship, State Assembly Polls

Prof. Isa Pantami

During the March 18 Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections, a total of 3,834,244 attacks were recorded from both within and outside Nigeria, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami has disclosed.

In a statement on Wednesday by his Senior Technical Assistant (Research and Development), Dr Femi Adeluyi, the Minister noted that the activities of cyber threat actors on the Nigerian cyberspace during the Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections were much lower than those during the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

According to him, a daily breakdown of the attacks from the attacks shows that: on Friday 17th March 2023, 1,046,896 attacks were recorded, on Saturday 18th March 2023: 1,481,847; Sunday 19th March 2023: 327,718 and on Monday 20th March 2023: 977,783.

The minister pointed out that, “the attacks were not surprising nor unexpected as, Nigeria being Africa’s largest democracy, the Presidential and National Assembly elections are bound to attract much attention of everyone, including cyberthreat actors, than during the Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections.”

He expressed confidence that the implementation of some recommendations as well as measures taken to fortify our cyber defence mechanisms might have helped in this regard.

The Minister reiterated that these attainments would not have been possible without the continued support of the administration towards ensuring Nigeria’s successful transition into the digital economy.

“The digital economy sector has enjoyed Mr President’s unprecedented support and it is highly appreciated.”